


On The Love Line

by sonus



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: College AU, Fanfic writer Hyuck, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, HAIKYUU REFERENCES, M/M, bg lumark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23081521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonus/pseuds/sonus
Summary: The way to ones heart more often than not is through food. The way to Donghyuck's heart is through fanfiction.Jeno tries his best
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 10
Kudos: 105
Collections: 99' ft 00' fic fest





	On The Love Line

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt number #FT040
> 
> AAAA IM FREE!!  
> Well, im half kidding half not.  
> Anyway, i want to thank my best buddies for endless motivation and You Know Who U Are for actually helping me post this and reading thru it when it was still unfinished, love u muah
> 
> Anyway, i hope u all like it! (U too prompter if u are reading this hehe) i had fun with it even if i had to cut it short a little bit

“So I wrote a new thing,” is the first words that come out of Donghyuck’s mouth as soon as Jeno picks up the phone.

It’s almost midnight and the older rubs his eyes in an attempt at making sense of his surroundings. He is sitting in his room alone, lights off, soft music coming from the living room a perfect background for falling asleep. Which almost happened, judging from how confused he feels.

One moment he was studying or more like taking a break and the next he is on the phone with his best friend.

Jeno sighs.

“What new thing?” he asks and grimaces at how sleepy he sounds. There’s no way in hell Donghyuck won’t notice it.

“Were you sleeping?” the younger asks and Jeno can hear a note of hesitation in his voice. “My god I’m sorry, I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Jeno looks at his notebooks, one lying sadly on the floor. He must have kicked it off the bed while sleeping.

“No,” he says and closes his eyes to get himself together. “I still need to study for tomorrow’s exam so I’m actually glad you woke me up.”

Donghyuck laughs and Jeno smiles. How easy it always is for his best friend to make him smile is one of the things Jeno would rather not think about at this time of the night. There are enough things that require his attention right now and his crush on Donghyuck isn’t at the top of the list.

“You don’t sound too convincing,” Donghyuck says but his tone is much brighter now that he knows Jeno isn’t mad at him. Like that would ever really happen anyway.

“Tell me who sounds excited about studying,” Jeno counters and leans over the edge of his bed to pick up the poor notebook.

“Good point. That’s why I write fanfiction instead of studying.”

Jeno groans. In moments like this, he wonders why he even likes the younger.

“ _Donghyuck_.”

“Yes, yes fine,” the younger says and there’s some noise on the other end that makes Jeno frown. “Sorry, had to switch to the speaker. Anyway, I wrote another thing.”

Jeno has seen too many of Donghyuck’s _things_ to count. They were mostly iwaoi, in fact, he hasn’t really beat’ed anything else for the younger yet. Well, there were some side ships from time to time but nothing big.

So what he expects to hear is another iwaoi summary followed by a word document in their chat.

Oh, how wrong he is this time.

“It’s a kagehina,” Donghyuck says calmly but the words actually make Jeno drop his phone. He searches for it instantly in the mess that is his covers and picks it up.

“A kagehina?” he asks, his voice a lot higher than normal. It’s not that it’s that big of a deal, he is just tired and maybe, still partly asleep.

He pinches his arm but it hurts and he groans in pain.

“Oh?” Donghyuck’s voice is suddenly deeper which means the younger is intrigued. “You don’t like them? Thought you never had any opinion on them.”

Jeno sighs. Donghyuck is right, he never did. It just strikes him as odd because as far as he knows they aren’t really his dynamic type.

“No, no I don’t mind,” he says and decides to lay down. It’s hard to not fall asleep while listening to Donghyuck’s voice. “I was just surprised at the sudden change.”

Donghyuck laughs and Jeno smiles unconsciously.

“Don’t get too used to it, I’m already working on another iwaoi.”

 _Of course you are,_ Jeno thinks and smiles even wider. He should probably tell his best friend to study instead of writing fanfiction but he can’t bring himself to do it because he sees how happy it makes him.

‘ _You are weak Lee Jeno. So weak_.’

What can he say? He is just a fool, in love with the younger.

“Okay, send me it,” he says and looks sadly at his textbooks. They will probably have to wait till the morning, or at least until he is finished reading.

“On it,” Donghyuck says and Jeno can hear typing in the background. “Jeno… You don’t have to do it today, you know. Go to sleep.”

Jeno laughs softly.

“I know,” he says in a reassuring tone and after saying their goodbyes they end the call.

Jeno knows he won’t be able to really keep his promise to go to sleep soon.

He opens his conversation with Donghyuck, clicks on the link takes a deep breath.

And starts reading.

🖋️🖋️🖋️

Spending his whole night before an important exam reading fanfiction isn't exactly what he had in mind and when he Jaemin asks him how ready he is on a scale from himself to Renjun he groans and answers with Donghyuck.

"Donghyuck? That's pretty low Jeno," his best friend throws him a concerned look which only makes Jeno feel worse about his time management. "Usually you are around Jeno on the scale. What happened?"

 _Yeah what happened?_ he asks himself ironically.

"Donghyuck," he answers again and Jaemin snorts.

"Are you a broken record today or something. I mean you talk a lot about Donghyuck on a daily but normally I'm able to have an actual conversation with you," the smirk on Jaemin's face makes Jeno want to commit murder.

"Oh shut up Nana, you're full of shit," he smacks his best friend on the shoulder but the conversation helps him loosen up a bit and he makes him look at the situation rationally.

Fine, he might not pass the exam today with how little he studied but even if he won't, the world is not ending.

Jaemin's eyes tell him that if Jeno will have to retake, probably so will Jaemin.

Name a better bonding moment than retaking an exam with your best friend.

"So tell me what exactly about Donghyuck kept you up all night this time?" He asks casually and it almost makes Jeno choke on air.

He looks around to make sure the boy in question is nowhere to be found.

"He asked me to beta another work of his," he starts and Jaemin raises his eyebrows. "He said I don't have to do it immediately but it was different and it made me curious."

"How was it different?" His best friend asks and Jeno is surprised because there is not a trace of sarcasm or mocking in the younger's voice. "You beta those for him all the time.  
Honestly, after reading a few of those I'm convinced he is writing them from his own experience because _damn_ iwaoi sure does sound like you two."

Jeno grimaces. This is probably why Donghyuck's newest creation bothers him so much. It's not that it's not good, because it is _fantastic_ , the younger's writing improving so much over the last year. Both Kageyama's and Hinata's characters nailed even though Donghyuck has never written them as mains before.

And most importantly, the dynamics are perfect. Balanced so well, spark almost flying through the screen of Jeno's phone.

It shouldn't bother him, it really shouldn't.

But for some reason, it does because it isn't the normally stoic and natural flow of iwaoi and it makes him wonder if maybe this is how Donghyuck sees the perfect romance after all.

"It's not an iwaoi at all," he says and now Jaemin's brows move down to meet in the middle in a confused frown. "He wrote a kagehina. A very good one but it was so different."

"Kagehina? Aren't they more like—" Jaemin trails off and his eyes wander off to lock on something behind Jeno. The older tilts his head slightly to see what his best friend is looking at and sure enough, there's the person Jeno has been wondering about too.

There, near the lockers stands their senior and Donghyuck's childhood best friend, Mark Lee.

"Isn't that basically Donghyuck and Mark hyung?" Jaemin's voice comes off quieter than before, probably because the older _is_ close enough to hear them. "The fighting and all?"

Jeno sighs.

"More like constant bickering but yeah you are right," Jeno sends Mark one last look before turning back to Jaemin. "There's lots of pushing and pulling. They fight a lot."

Jaemin laughs loudly at him.

"And then they angrily kiss and make out," Jeno feels like he wants to disappear. Telling Jaemin about it is so _stupid_.

"Dude, do you think Donghyuck and Mark angrily kiss and make out too?"

" _No_ ," Jeno says in a low voice and it comes out more aggressive than he wanted. "Shit I'm sorry this is stressing me out."

"Because you are in love with him," Jaemin says in a much softer voice now and Jeno sighs. The younger can be pretty unhelpful at times but in the end, he knows him best.

' _Yeah_ ,' he thinks.

Jaemin doesn't even need to hear that.

And if Jaemin doesn’t need to hear it, Renjun doesn’t need that too. In fact, Renjun probably needs it even less when Jeno thinks about it. The older is the one who is the most likely to scold him for holding onto this useless crush of his and Jeno doesn’t need that.

Unfortunately, it seems that luck isn’t on Jeno’s side today because, of course, Renjun hears.

“Not to burst your bubble or anything but Donghyuck definitely isn’t aggressively making out with Mark. Or making out with him at all for the record,” Renjun throws Jaemin and Jeno a _look_.

“You heard that conversation?” Jeno whines. He can feel the tips of his eyes burn. “All of it?”

Renjun rolls his eyes and shrugs with makes Jeno feel even worse.

“Nothing in it was news to me,” he says casually and well maybe Jeno really is _that_ obvious. “But that’s not the point. The point is that _Donghyuck and Mark aren’t dating_. If fact, Mark is already taken so if our little Duckie has a crush on him that’s too bad.”

“ _What_?” both Jeno and Jaemin ask at the same time. They share confused looks.

Because while Jeno didn’t really believe that Donghyuck and Mark were together he never expected their calm older friend to be already dating someone else. Or maybe he just never expected him to keep it a secret.

And judging from Jaemin’s reaction it was also news to him too.

“He has been dating Yukhei for the past year?” Renjun crosses his arms over his chest and raises an eyebrow. “I cannot believe how dense the both of you are.”

Jeno stares at their older friend but there is something calling for his attention at the back of his mind. Maybe Renjun is right and Jeno _is_ dense.

He wonders is Donghyuck is denser.

🖋️🖋️🖋️

“I wanna do it,” Jeno says one day, setting his tray with food next to Jaemin and Renjun. Both of his friends look at him in question.

“Wanna go to space?”

“Wanna finally pass your test on the first try?”

Jeno should have known better.

“No, you dipshits, I wanna tell Donghyuck how I feel.”

He watches as Jaemin and Renjun exchange glances before turning to him with similar shy smiles, untrust visible under all that happiness at his sudden bravery.

“Is it bad that I’m both excited and scared?” Jaemin asks and Renjun sends him a disapproving look

“I think there’s only one thing that would get through Donghyuck’s dense as a brick brain,” Renjun says matter-of-factly and Jaemin snorts at his side.

“The way I know what you are talking about,” the younger boy says and points his finger at the oldest of the group just to slowly turn it back to himself. “We are soulmates.”

If glares could kill, both Jeno and Jaemin would be dead, no doubt. Renjun scans them both, Jaemin and his ridiculous exclamation first, just to turn to Jeno, who is about to speak up and defend Donghyuck’s honor in an already lost battle.

He closes his mouth as fast as he opened it.

“Write him something,” Renjun points at Jeno with a frown. “A letter, a poem, a goddamn book, I don’t know, just _something_.”

Jeno finds himself nodding slowly against his will because what Renjun says makes a lot of sense. Donghyuck lives through words; always on a brim of reality and fiction rather than in any of the worlds.

There has been _so many times_ when Jeno has tried to lay out his feelings before Donghyuck before. The attempts have always ended up in disasters, the younger not paying enough attention or Jeno not speaking loud enough.

But the written word is not something Donghyuck can ignore, it can’t be too quiet or too loud and as long as Jeno makes his point clear it should work. In theory.

And what better way to share his feelings with Donghyuck than something the younger loves so, so much and writes himself. The idea sounds both amazing and terrifying to Jeno.

He shares his thoughts with his friends.

“I know nothing about writing fanfictions,” Jeno whines and Renjun looks at him with a judging glance.

“For someone who has beta’ed a shit tone of them, I find that hard to believe,” Jaemin says and Renjun rolls his eyes once more. Jeno is seriously worried about their friend. What is one day they will just stay at the back of his head? With the amount of eye-rolling Renjun does it wouldn’t be too surprising.

“You are an _english major_ Jeno,” Rejun hisses. “What do you mean you can’t write a goddamnit story.”

Jeno wants to laugh at how irritated Renjun seems but he feels like that would be inappropriate and also might bring him death.

“ I don’t know the characters that well,” now even Jaemin gives him a _look_.

“By this point, you know the characterization better than me and I’ve watched Haikyuu!! God knows how many times,” Renjun points out and well, he _might_ have a point.

“Wow, Injun you are a fan too? Maybe a writer yourself?” Jaemin asks and Renjun turns to the younger with murderous eyes.

Jeno can clearly see the moment when Renjun decides to _murder_ Jaemin so he smoothly steps in to save his friend.

“C’mon guys,” he waves at them both and Renjun steps down. “No need to fight. Renjun,” he looks at his friend and the older crosses his arms over his chest, waiting. “You are right. I can write it if I want.”

“See, that wasn’t that hard,” Renjun smiles with one corner of his mouth and Jeno hears Jaemin hiss on his other side. They both know all too well this probably isn’t the best idea. “I’ll be waiting for your best attempt at iwaoi possible.”

Jeno wants to protest because iwaoi is Donghyuck’s _favorite_ and if he messed that up he would not only not get a boyfriend but also probably lose his best friend.

But then again, them being Donghyuck’s favorite and the ones Jeno knows best is probably why he should go with them. And, of course, the childhood friends part fits well too.

Judging from Renjun’s face he doesn’t have a choice anyway.

🖋️🖋️🖋️

Jeno doesn’t expect to be hit with a big problem right off the bat.

He knows this won’t be easy, sure, that’s why he was so hesitant to do it in the first place but this is something else.

You see, the problem isn’t characterization or even the world-building. Jeno can probably deal with them both now that he _thinks_ about it.

The problem is that Jeno still hasn’t written a single word.

“How should I do it,” he groans to himself and hides his face in his hands. For someone who has told Donghyuck so many way too colorful excuses to why he doesn’t date Jeno sure has no imagination. “How does _he_ do it?”

Well, that’s a good question. Which, for obvious reasons, Jeno can’t just _ask_.

He can’t ask Donghyuck about this.

Next to him, Jaemin slides him a worried glance.

"You okay?" He whispers and Jeno can feel their teachers warning gaze on them but he decides to ignore it.

“I can’t write,” he answers instead and Jaemin’s gaze shifts to the notebook lying before Jeno. Other than some random doodles of flowers and cats, it’s empty. “I’ve tried to come up with the plot or _anything really_ but I can’t.”

Jaemin sighs and points to a familiar name hidden between two forget-me-not flowers at the corner of the page.

“Why won’t you ask the expert himself?”

Jeno has convinced himself it’s the worst idea he can come up with before but now when it’s Jaemin proposing it, asking Donghyuck suddenly sounds better.

And, really, who would know the topic better.

Jeno sighs.

🖋️🖋️🖋️

"Hey Donghyuck," Jeno ponders over his decision to ask the younger again because with the way his heart beats loudly in his chest and his hands shake a little in his lap he isn't sure of the younger won't be able to tell his intentions right away.

"What is it?" His best friend tears his eyes away from the screen of his laptop and Jeno can see a blinking cursor just after an 'Oikawa' written in ariel.

It's now or never. Jeno has to shoot his shot.

"How do you differentiate between being in love and just simple friendship love in your fanfics?"

Donghyuck furrows his eyebrows but stays quiet.

“What’s the difference?” Jeno asks again. It might not be the wisest idea to push so much but he has been meaning to ask about it for such a long time.

“It’s something I call the ‘love line’,” Donghyuck leans in and taps on the screen a few times. “See? Here he treats Hajime differently and even if he doesn’t know about it he has already crossed the line. Basically, the point is, no matter if you are aware of it, once you cross the ‘love line’ you can’t just go back. Unlike the characters who just fall in love during the running of the work."

Jeno looks at the words under Donghyuck's fingertips and wonders how on earth can the younger be so good at explaining it and yet not recognizing it when it's right in front of him in real life.

"Of course it's all just my take on it. I like to set a difference between characters who already were in love with each other and the ones who just fell," he closes the unfinished fanfic and Jeno's eyes travel to Donghyuck's face. "Obviously not everyone deems it important. Why are you asking me anyway? You agreed to be my beta because you are an English major not because you love to have early access to my Haikyuu!! fanfictions."

"Can't I simply be interested?" He asks cautiously, eyes running away from Donghyuck in a desperate attempt to hide his emotions. He feels vulnerable like this; talking about love and all those serious things, especially since they hit way too close home.

He isn't sure how much is visible on his face. Donghyuck has always been good at reading him but Jeno's actions have never been concealed too smoothly, some odd smile or a longing gaze slipping when he didn't pay attention. In a way, Donghyuck should probably know by now what's going on.

Jeno dares a glance at his best friend. Donghyuck's eyes are questioning, the brown a tad bit darker normally either due to the lighting or maybe some foreign emotion. Jeno doesn't want to dwell on it.

By all means, Donghyuck should know it by now. But as far as Jeno knows, he doesn't. It's like the younger is failing at his own game, at his own love line. It's probably hard to tell because _for what reason_ would Donghyuck look at what they have like he looks at his character's relationships.

Jeno's breath hitches.

"Can be," Donghyuck agrees slowly, head slightly tilting to the side. "Or maybe..."

The pause is short but the eye contact makes Jeno nervously grip the hem of his t-shirt.

"You like someone," it's more of a statement than a question and Donghyuck laughs almost immediately after the words leave his mouth. “That’s unexpected.”

“Is it?” Jeno asks and Donghyuck’s gaze hardens a little bit, turning the atmosphere from light to something more serious in mere seconds. Whatever is happening right now, Jeno has no idea what to think about it.

“I don’t know,” Donghyuck looks at his laptop sitting safely on the nightstand. It probably holds another piece of fanfiction that Donghyuck is working on. “Whatever it is, I hope I helped.”

Jeno nods lightly.

‘ _I think you did_.’

🖋️🖋️🖋️

"Take inspiration from real life."

Literally the last person Jeno expects to get useful advice from is Mark. And yet that's exactly where he gets it.

The oldest member of their friend group usually prefers rolling his eyes while his best friend goes on and on about how _great_ and _powerful_ Oikawa and Iwaizumi are. He isn't the one to chirp in his comments like Renjun sometimes does, so when he proves to know more about Haikyuu!! than Jeno and Jaemin combined (which is not that much but Jeno comes to the conclusion that the older _must_ have watched it), Jeno _is_ surprised.

And his advice is much better than Donghyuck's. Well, no, that's untrue. Donghyuck's advice is _good_ just not... what Jeno needs.

Writing comes surprisingly easy when he takes inspiration from his real life. Part of him is thrilled at the realization Donghyuck's actions _do_ seem like straight out of a fanfiction. Part of him isn't. Donghyuck probably takes inspiration from their interactions too.

A little charm Donghyuck get him because, apparently, the small white cat reminds him of Jeno. He writes it in, hands hovering over the keyboard, unsure, as he makes his way through words that belong to a theory completely new to him.

Countless walks home, Jeno going out of his way to make sure Donghyuck gets home safe, filled with laughter and sweets that they buy on the way. The words go down on the pages too easily now, Jeno can't stop them from flowing the empty space and it almost feels like he is rambling, unable to covet what he feels into actions even though he knows this is how most of Donghyuck's iwaois play out. It feels a little like bleeding.

But in the end, it’s worth it. When Jeno finally sits back and glances at the bright screen of his laptop lost in the dark of the deep night hours, he smiles at the words that glance back at him.

The fanfiction is good if Jeno is allowed to say that about his own work. The characterization came out nice according to Renjun and Jeno’s intentions are hard to miss according to Jeamin.

He looks at Donghyuck’s name lighting up the screen. The colorful dot next to it is red now, the younger probably already asleep, getting well-deserved sleep before his classes in the morning.

Jeno hovers his mouse above the chat, unsure what to do now. Some part of him wants to back down now, hide the piece that he has written and never speak of it again. But the other part of him, the one that pushed him to finish even when the words were slipping away from his fingertips knows better. Jeno knows that the smile he would show Donghyuck if he doesn’t hit ‘send’ tonight would be insincere.

So he searches for the remaining bits of bravery that are left in him and in the safety of his own bedroom he does it.

He clicks ‘send’.

And then, he waits.

🖋️🖋️🖋️

Just as expected Donghyuck corners him the next day.

In a way, it’s all familiar but in truly Donghyuck fashion is also unexpected. Jeno waits the whole day with his heart in his throat, looking around each time he is in common areas but Donghyuck never shows up.

Instead, Donghyuck materializes on Jeno's bed when he comes home from school.

It's strange, Jeno's brain screaming at him that his best friend should still be in class but here they are instead.

"I guess you read my little 'something'," there is no point in pretending he doesn't know what this is about. The fact that Donghyuck went out of his way to come around to Jeno's house tells him all he needs to know. 

Donghyuck nods for good measure.

"I couldn't tell if Hajime has already crossed the line. Up until that point. I guess it is meant to be resolved in the next chapter but I'm still curious."

Jeno has kind of forgot how dumb his best friend can be.

"I wish I knew too. You tell me Hyuck," he says slowly, his voice getting quieter which makes Donghyuck lean in a little too close. “Do you think he did?”

The question hangs in the air for a second, two before any of them move.

Jeno can feel his eyes slip down to Donghyuck’s lips for a second but he averts his gaze. He can feel his best friend’s breath on his cheek, that’s how close they are but he can’t find the younger’s gaze no matter how hard he tries.

“Ah,” Donghyuck murmurs finally. It’s quiet but Jeno hears him anyway. The word tickles his neck.

And then Donghyuck kisses him.

It’s light and fast, the younger giving him no time to react before he pulls back.

There's something strange in the kiss and it takes Jeno a moment to separate it from his own feelings and then he finally gets it.

It's longing.

Jeno looks up at his best friend.

Donghyuck's eyes are closed shut but he smiles slightly.

"This is not my typical iwaoi," he mumbles under his breath and stiffens a laugh. "And I have written quite a few."

Jeno wonders if maybe Donghyuck's fanfictions somehow had the same purpose as his own.

"We aren't Iwaizumi and Oikawa," he points out and at that Donghyuck finally opens his eyes.

They stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, the happy sound filling out all of the dark corners of Jeno's room.

"Yeah, I guess we are not," Donghyuck moves close again and this time Jeno meets him halfway.

They are not iwaoi and as Jeno tastes strawberry on Donghyuck he thinks he is a much bigger fan of them than the fictional characters, no offence to the haikyuu!! fans.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank u for reading, comments and kudos are always welcomed hehe~


End file.
